Two California professors have installed seesaws across the US-Mexico border in a blunt rebuke to US President Donald Trump over his plans to build a wall along the 3,200km boundary between the two nations.
The three pink seesaws were unveiled on Monday at a border fence separating Sunland Park, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, allowing children and adults on both sides to play together.
University of California Berkeley architecture professor Ronald Rael, who came up with the project with San Jose University design professor Virginia San Fratello, said that the idea for “Teetertotter Wall” had been in the making for a decade.
Photo: AFP
Seeing the project come to life was “one of the most incredible experiences” for him and Fratello, he said, adding that the event at the border as “filled with joy, excitement and togetherness.”
“The wall became a literal fulcrum for US-Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side,” he added.
Video and pictures of the seesaws were trending on social media on Tuesday, with many praising the idea that comes as the Trump administration pushes ahead with tightened immigration policies.
“Beautiful reminder that we are connected: what happens on one side impacts the other,” Mexican actor Mauricio Martinez tweeted.
“The symbolism of the seesaw is just magical,” said Claudia Tristan, director of Latino messaging for Texas-born presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke.
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